He Had Everything; He Lost Everything

Left: Painting of the "Angel Gabriel" during the storm. Right: Path of the hurricane (from source 2)

 When our forefathers came to America, whether it was in the earliest time of settlement or a later time, it meant starting over – many times with just the clothes on one’s back. This is what happened to my husband’s 11th great-grandfather – John Francis Cogswell (1592-1669).

John Cogswell inherited a large estate from his father, Edward Cogswell (1554-1615). Edward Cogswell was an owner of a woolen manufacturing business that made wool cloth and woolen clothes; he was also a landowner in England.

In 1635, prior to emigrating to the New England Colonies, John disposed of his inherited estate. However, he did take with him cattle, farming implements, furniture, housekeeping utensils, and money (sterling coin) – everything was valued at about £5,000. It is hard to convert Colonial currency from that far back; but, a good estimate of that £5,000, in today’s dollars, would be $945,000. John Francis Cogswell was coming to Colonial New England with a fortune. 1  

John, his wife, Elizabeth Thompson (1594-1676), eight of their nine children, and several servants sailed from Bristol, England, on May 23, 1635, on the Angel Gabriel. The Angel Gabriel was a 240-ton ship. It had originally been Sir Walter Raleigh’s ship, the Starre, on his last trip to America in 1617. It was described as being “stout and built for combat armed with 16 guns.” The Cogswells were the primary passengers on the Angel Gabriel.  2

Painting of the "Angel Gabriel" - Google Images

Despite the ship being “stout,” it ran into the path of one of the most intense hurricanes in the history of New England off the coast of Maine:  Today it is referred to as “The Great Hurricane of 1635.” The Cogswells, along with others on the ship, were able to make it to shore near Pemaquid, Maine, along with some of the wreckage. Though they were able to salvage some furniture, a Turkish rug, embroidered damask curtains, table linens, and silver plate, much of their belongings had been lost. However, they were about 149 land miles from their original destination of Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Google Image

John and his family eventually made it to Ipswich. John started with everything in England, lost almost everything due to the hurricane, but ended up as a very “well-to-do land” owner in New England. Upon arriving in Ipswich, John Cogswell – by virtue of his reputation, social standing, and relative wealth – was recognized as a valuable asset to the colony and was granted over 300 acres of land and became a leading citizen of the town.

Upon John’s death, the inventory of value of his estate was revealed to be only £115. This £115 represents only 2.3 percent of the wealth that he originally departed with from England. So, in a sense, he was not certainly well-to-do. However, keep in mind, that most estates at this time consisted of acreage, log houses, and furnishings that certainly did not match those left behind in England. But, there are other types of wealth, and it would seem the John Francis Cogswell found those in the new land named Massachusetts.

Painting of the "Angel Gabriel" - Google Image

1 – “North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000.” Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. www.ancestry.com. Cogswell Family.

2 – Harris, Gordon. “The Great Colonial Hurricane and the Wreck of the Angel Gabriel, August 25, 1635.” Historic Ipswich, 2014, historicipswich.org/2014/08/27/the-great-colonial-hurricane-and-the-wreck-of-the-angel-gabriel-august-25-1635/.